Physical Preparation in Professional Baseball: Training Strategies and Load Management
In this presentation, I will discuss my methods of physical preparation for the professional baseball player, with focus on training strategies and load management. With physical preparation, the objective is to maximize physical performance and minimize chronic fatigue through proper application of load (stress). I will provide take a ways as to how you can use this system or thought process to apply to any sport that you work with across many different levels of development. I will give examples of how we monitor load in-season and during training camps, as well as how this information can help drive day-to-day decisions when it comes to linking general physical preparation with skill acquisition, keeping players healthy and performing their best.
Patrick Trainor is currently the Minor League Strength and Conditioning Coordinator for the Tampa Bay Rays baseball organization. In his current role with the Tampa Bay Rays, he oversees the physical preparation programs for the Minor League player development system of roughly 175 players that make up the Rays 7 MiLB affiliates, as well as leading a staff of seven strength and conditioning coaches. Prior to joining the Rays in his current role, he has spent time with the San Diego Padres and Cleveland Indians, as well as a previous stint with the Rays as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at the Minor League affiliate level. Along with working in the professional baseball team setting, he has also spent time with MLB sponsored baseball academies in both France and Sweden in the winters of 2013 and 2014, helping the academies establish their physical preparation programs. Outside of professional baseball, he has held positions at the collegiate level with Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA (2007-2009) as well as Queens College in New York (2012), overseeing the physical preparation of varsity sports. Patrick received a B.S in Exercise Physiology from West Virginia University, as well as a M.S in Kinesiology from Georgia Southern University. Patrick currently resides in Florida with his wife, Shayla, and their three sons, Isaac, Elijah, and Andre.
